AP World History 1750-1914 (Important People)

Empress Dowager Cixi

Empress of China and mother of Emperor Guangxi. She put her son under house arrest, supported anti-foreign movements like the so-called Boxers, and resisted reforms of the Chinese government and armed forces.

Commodore Matthew Perry

The Commodore of the U.S. Navy who compelled the opening of Japan to the West with the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854. Japan also agreed to help shipwrecked soldiers as a result. Matthew Perry brought many steam ships with him to show America’s strength, and to intimidate and persuade the Japanese.

Emperor Meiji

His name means “Enlightened Rule.” Also known as Mutsuhito, this boy emperor who received reign after the Meiji Restoration civil war. Reigned from 1852-1912.

Emilio Aguinaldo was a Filipino leader who fought first against Spain and then against the United States. He was a leader in the fight for Filipino independence.

James Watt

A Scottish engineer who created the steam engine that worked faster and more efficiently than earlier engines, this man continued improving the engine, inventing a new type of governor to control steam pressure and attaching a flywheel.

Henry Bessemer

(1813-1898) An English engineer who created the Bessemer procces, a process of producing steel, in which impurities are removed by forcing a blast of air through molten iron.

Adam Smith

1723- 1790; Scottish; “Wealth of Nations”; first economist; “laissez-faire capitalism”; not completely against govt regulation; pro free trade; let individuals pursue own interest; attacks mercantilism- peep do thinks out of self interest (baker); prices should be fluctuated on just supply & demand- not what gov’t say it is; philosophe; not hard-core conservative (gov’t does have part); didn’t trust businessmen; economics should have an economic (not military) end goal; skilled workforce and strong infrastructure determines power of country- not how much stacks of gold you have; colonization is dumb

David Ricardo

“Iron Law of Wages”-wealthy English stockbroker and leading economist-coldly spelled out the pessimistic implications of Malthus’s thought-his iron law of wages stated that because of the pressure of pop. growth, wages would always sin to subsistence level. With more food came more children, neverending cycle.

Karl Marx

(1818-1883) Scientific socialist who coauthored “The Communist Manifesto”. Believed that the history of class conflict is best understood through the dialectal process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Contended that a class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat would lead “to the dictatorship of the proletariat” which in turn would be a transitional phase leading to a classless society.

Frederich Engels

Worked with Karl Marx to develop Marxism, and helped write a couple of books that outlined the ideals of Marxism and communism, and how the world will advance toward it.

George Washington

1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799)

John MacDonald

Canada’s first prime minister; pushed manifest dynasty; purchased Northwest Territories in 1869 from Hudson Bay Company for 1.5 million; didn’t want to lose British Columbia to U.S. so he lured into confederation with subsidies for debt and transcontinental railroad; used same tactic for Prince Edward Island

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Was an important leader of the Haïtian Revolution and the first leader of a free Haiti; in a long struggle again the institution of slavery, he led the blacks to victory over the whites and free coloreds and secured native control over the colony in 1797, calling himself a dictator.

Simon Bolivar

1783-1830, Venezuelan statesman: leader of revolt of South American colonies against Spanish rule.
“The Liberator”

Pedro I of Brazil

Took over for his father King John VI in Brazil, In 1822 he declared independence for Brazil and made himself emperor of Brazil though agreed to a constitution, The constitution gave Brazilians their basic rights and made an elected legislature. But Brazil did not get rid of slavery, slaves freedom would not have come till the late 1800s, Brazil stayed a monarchy until 1889, they forced the emperor to step down a proclaimed a republic.

Miguel Hidalgo

Mexican priest and revolutionary. Although the revolt he initiated (1810) against Spanish rule failed, he is regarded as a national hero in Mexico’s struggle for independence from Spain.

Jose Maria Morelos

Mexican priest and former student of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, he led the forces fighting for Mexican independence until he was captured and executed in 1814

Agustin Iturbide

NAME OF CREOLE OFFICER WHO DEFEATED JOSE MARIA MORELOS ENDING THE PUSH OF MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE IN 1815
He was the Creole officer who defeated Hidalgo’s successor in 1815. By the 1820s, a liberal group was in power in Spain, so the creoles, fearing the loss of their privileges, joined the rebels, united in support of Mexico’s independence from Spain. This man then made peace with the last rebel leader and proclaimed independence in 1821 (Treaty of Cordoba). He declared himself emperor Augustus I, but was overthrown in 1823., Mexican (creole) army officer who joined forces w/ the Indians and Mestizos won mexican’s independence then claimed himself emperor

Benito Juarez

1806-1872; President of Mexico (1858-1872). Born in poverty in Mexico, he was educated as a lawyer and rose to become chief justice of the Mexican supreme court and then became president. He led Mexico’s resistance to a French invasion in 1863 and the installation of Maximilian as emperor

Jose Marti

Cuban poet and journalist who organized a guerilla revolution against Spain in 1895- “Cuba Libre” free Cuba was his battle cry-and sought US support and intervention.

Louis XVI

King of France (1774-1792). In 1789 he summoned the Estates-General, but he did not grant the reforms that were demanded and revolution followed. Louis and his queen, Marie Antoinette, were executed in 1793.

Marie Antoinette

Queen of France (as wife of Louis XVI) who was unpopular her extravagance and opposition to reform contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy; she was guillotined along with her husband (1755-1793)

Napoleon Bonaparte

(1769-1821) Emperor of the French. Responsible for many French Revolution reforms as well as conquering most of Europe. He was defeated at Waterloo, and died several years later on the island of Saint Helena.

Klemens von Metternich

a German-Austrian politician and statesman, and one of the most important diplomats of his era. He was a major figure on the negotiations leading to and at the Congress of Vienna and is considered both a paradigm of foreign policy management and a major figure on the development of diplomacy.

Napoleon II

Nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, and elected emperor of France from 1852-1870, he invaded Mexico when the Mexican government couldn’t repay loans from French bankers. He sent in an army and set up a new government under Maximillian. He refused Lincoln’s request that France withdraw. After the Civil War, the U.S. sent an army to enforce the request and Napoleon withdrew.

Alexander II

(r. 1855-1881) Emperor of Russia; advocated moderate reforms for Russia; emancipated the serfs; he was assassinated.

Mary Wollstonecraft

An English writer who wrote “Vindication of the Rights of Women”, arguing that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be so because of lack of education

Charles Darwin

1809-1882 English naturalist and scientist whose theory of evolution through natural selection was first published in ‘On The Origin of the Species” in 1859.

Cecil Rhodes

Born in 1853, played a major political and economic role in colonial South Africa. He was a financier, statesman, and empire builder with a philosophy of mystical imperialism.

Rudyard Kipling

(1864-1936) English writer and poet; defined the “white man’s burden” as the duty of European and Euro-American peoples to bring order and enlightenment to distant lands

Wilhelm II

Became king of Germany in 1888. Dismissed Bismarck and took over policy making. Wanted to strengthen the army. Resulted in the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy) vs. Triple Entente (France, Russia, Britain)

Muhammad Ali

Leader of Egyptian modernization in the early nineteenth century. He ruled Egypt as an Ottoman governor, but had imperial ambitions. His descendants ruled Egypt until overthrown in 1952.

Ismail

A great Safavid ruler who, at the age of 14, conquered much of the territory that became the Safavid Empire. He was a religious tyrant who made Shi’ia the state religion.

Mahmud II

Ottoman sultan; built a private, professional army; fomented revolution of Janissaries and crushed them with private army; destroyed power of Janissaries and their religious allies; initiated reform of Ottoman Empire on Western precedents

Selim III

Sultan who ruled Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807; aimed at improving administrative efficiency and building a new army and navy; toppled by Janissaries in 1807

Robert Clive

Architect of British victory at Plassey; established foundations of British raj in northern India (18th century)

David Livingston

Leopold II

1870’S – King of Belgium. Began imperial domain in Africa. He privately hired Stanley to represent him in signing treaties with local rulers. At the Berlin Conference of 1885, the Congo Free State was authorized under Leopold’s private rule. Became notorious for exploitation of rubber, ivory and minerals and peoples. Belgian government took over from Leopold the year before his death in 1908.

Menelik II

Emperor of Ethiopia who played Italians, British, and French against each other while buying weapons from France and Russia. In the Battle of Adowa, Ethiopian forces successfully defeated the Italians and maintained their independence.

Otto von Bismarck

Chancellor of Germany; responsible for the unification of Germany. He brought many of the changes that workers wanted. Guessed of French revenge and formed allies to isolate France and avoid fighting against France and Russia. was responsible for the creation of the German Empire.

Shaka Zulu

(1787?-1828) During Shaka’s rule, the Zulu broadened their land claims throughout southern Africa. Eventually, the Zulu came into the conflict with the British army as they expanded their control over southern Africa and invaded the homeland of the Zulu. Despite early victories, the Zulu were eventually defeated by the technology and vast resources at the command of the British troops. Soon, all of southern Africa would come under British control.

Samuel Crompton

1779, a Brit who combined the best features of the spinning jenny with the water frame -> spinning mule/Crompton’s mule.

Edmund Cartwright

A british poet and minister who answered the shortage of weavers with the power loom. Running on steam power, the loom made it possible for weavers to keep up with the amount of yarn produced

John Kay

1733, a Brit who invented the fly shuttle. Made it possible for one person instead of two to operate a loom in textile manufacturing. It increased the output of woven material and therefore also the demand for yarn.

George Stephenson

1814, a Brit who built the first successful steam locomotive. By 1829 his Rocket traveled on the world’s first railroad line from Manchester to Liverpool at average speed of 16mph. By the 1840s the era of railroad construction had begun in Europe and the US.

Eli Whitney

An American inventor who developed the cotton gin. Also contributed to the concept of interchangeable parts that were exactly alike and easily assembled or exchanged

Henry Ford

1863-1947. American businessman, founder of Ford Motor Company, father of modern assembly lines, and inventor credited with 161 patents.

Charles Fourier

(1777-1837) French utopian reformer who devised an eight-stage theory of social evolution that predicted the imminent decline of individualism & capitalism; In the place of capitalist waged labor, men & women would work cooperatively in communities called phalanxes whose members would be its shareholders & would own all its property in common; Charles (and Brisbane) saw the phalanx as a practical, more humane alternative to a society based on private property & capitalist values, & one that would liberate women as well as men; Fourierist ideas appealed to educated farmers & craftsmen

Robert Owen

(1771-1858) Utopian socialists who improved health and safety conditions in mills, increased workers wages and reduced hours. Dreamed of establishing socialist communities the most noteable was New Harmony (1826) which failed.

Sergei Witte

A tough finance minister who thought that Russia’s industrial backwardness was threatening Russia’s power and greatness

Juan Manuel de Rosas

Federalist leader in Buenos Aires; took power in 1831; commanded loyalty of gauchos; restored local autonomy.

Emiliano Zapato

Mexican revolutionary who led guerrilla fighting in the South; motto was “Tierra y Libertad”; demanded land reform.

Pancho Villa

Mexican revolutionary leader (1877-1923) Did many good things, but killed a lot of people. Wanted to take money from the rich and give it to the poor.

Last tsar of Russia, he went to the frontlines in WWI to try to rally the troops, but was forced to abdicate after his wife made horrible decisions under the influence of Rasputin.

Lin Zexu

19th-century Chinese official charged during the 1830s with ending the opium trade in southern China; set off the events leading to the Opium War.

Hong Xiquan

leader of Taiping rebellion, was a schoolteacher who kept failing the public service exam, commits suicide when Nanjing captured
christian convert; who viewed himself as a younger brother of jesus christ; god gave him the mission of destroying the qing dynasty; proclaimed the new dynasty “the heavenly kingdom of great peace .TAI PING REBELLION; rebellion called for social reforms
GREAT PEACE

Fukuzawa Yukichi

influential Japanese author, advocated learning Western languages and encouraged Japan to learn from west in order to keep up, his theory was “civilization and enlightenment”

Henry Stanley

British-American explorer of Africa, famous for his expeditions in search of Dr. David Livingstone. He helped King Leopold II establish the Congo Free State.

Captain James Cook

English navigator who claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain and discovered several Pacific islands (1728-1779)

James Monroe

(1817-1821) and (1821-1825) The Missouri Compromise in 1821., the fifth President of the United States (1817-1825).His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida (1819); the Missouri Compromise (1820), in which Missouri was declared a slave state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), declaring U.S. opposition to European interference in the Americas

Ram Mohan Roy

Father of modern India; he called for the construction of a society based on both modern Euorpean science and the Indian tradition of devotional Hindusim.

Woodrow Wilson

28th president of the United States, known for World War I leadership, created Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Clayton Antitrust Act, progressive income tax, lower tariffs, women’s suffrage (reluctantly), Treaty of Versailles, sought 14 points post-war plan, League of Nations (but failed to win U.S. ratification), won Nobel Peace Prize

Mustafa Kemal

1881 – 1938, father of modern turkey, known as (Ataturk) let Turkey through an intensive period of reform that sought to eliminate vestiges of the Ottoman past and orient Turkey even more towards the West.